Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, left, says he supports a Chicago Police Department investigation headed by U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, right, and the U.S. Justice Department.
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The announcement followed several weeks of uproar over the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, whose 2014 death was captured on a police dashboard camera.
Today, I am announcing that the Department of Justice has opened an investigation into whether the Chicago Police Department has engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the Constitution or federal law.
Last week, Action Now and partner organizations delivered over 35,000 petition signatures to the State’s Attorney’s office calling on Alvarez to resign. So, if there’s a finding that civil rights abuses by Chicago police are systemic, prosecutors would likely ask a federal judge to order the city and the department to make specific recommendations. Community groups, starved for meaningful dialogue, may have some historic openings with this convergence.
Fairley’s appointment is the latest in a series of measures Emanuel has implemented since the McDonald case put the city, and several politicians, in turmoil. In Chicago, federal investigators will probe how officers use deadly force and examine any racial or ethnic disparities in how force is employed.
The US Justice Department said on Monday it will investigate Chicago’s police department following protests over the 2014 police shooting death of a black teenager, on the same day prosecutors said they would not seek charges in a similar case.
“Nothing is more important to me than the safety and well-being of our residents and ensuring that the men and women of our Police Department have the tools, resources and training they need to be effective crime fighters, stay safe, and build community trust”, Emanuel said in a statement Monday and pledged the city’s “complete cooperation”.
Lynch said building trust is one of the goals of opening the investigation. “And when suspicion and hostility is allowed to fester, it can erupt into unrest”.
Alvarez has been criticized for not filing charges long ago in the McDonald case, in which the video shows the teen veering away from officers when Van Dyke opens fire from close range. Since the shooting, he has also established a task force to improve police accountability and named an interim police chief after forcing out Superintendent Garry McCarthy. After announcing McCarthy had stepped down, Emanuel told reporters the former police superintendent had “become an issue rather than dealing with the issue”.
With the city’s handling of such cases under intense scrutiny, Alvarez defended the decision at a press conference in which she released a police dashcam video and a video presentation with recordings of 911 calls and police radio traffic at the time of incident. Authorities say he was carrying a gun in his hand as he was killed on October 12, 2014. She also said Johnson was armed and was running toward an occupied police vehicle before he was shot.
During her news conference, which lasted more than an hour, one of Alvarez’s prosecutors showed reporters dash-cam footage and pointed to frames she said showed Johnson wielding a gun. Police said Johnson resisted arrest, then ran from officers.
Johnson’s mother, Dorothy Holmes, spoke briefly to reporters and demonstrators and said she would continue to fight on her son’s behalf, in the same way she battled to get the video of his shooting made public.
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The Obama administration to date has conducted inquiries into 23 police departments, stepping up the pace from George W. Bush era.
